The Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy: a preliminary psychometric study and group comparisons in Korean physicians

Background: Empathy is an important element of professionalism in medicine. Thus, evaluation and enhancement empathy in physicians is important, regardless of geographical boundaries. Aim: This study was designed to evaluate the psychometrics of a Korean version of the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy (JSPE) among Korean physicians. Methods: The Korean version of JSPE was completed by 229 physicians in Korea. Results: Item-total score correlations were all positive and statistically significant. Cronbach’s coefficient alpha was 0.84. The mean score was 98.2 (SD ¼ 12.0), which was lower than that reported for American and Italian physicians. The emerged factor structure of the translated version was somewhat similar to that reported for American physicians, although the order was different. Significant differences in the mean empathy scores were observed between men and women and among physicians in different specialties. Conclusion: Our findings provide evidence in support of reliability and construct validity of the Korean version of JSPE for assessing empathy among Korean physicians. The disparity between Korean physicians and physicians from other countries may be explained by differences in the culture of medical education and medical practice. It suggests an exploration of cross-cultural differences in physician empathy.